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Results of two important studies published in March issue of AIDS

The results of two important studies have been published in the March issue of AIDS, the official journal of the International AIDS Society. One study notes that screening for HIV should be performed more frequently—up to every three months for the highest-risk patients, while low-risk groups to be tested every three years. A second study demonstrates a link between heavy drinking and risky behaviors for men who have sex with men (MSM).

5 Mar 2013

World Trade Organization meeting this week to discuss proposed extension of TRIPS transition period for LDCs

"On March 5-6, the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights Council of the World Trade Organization will meet in Geneva to seal the fate of the proposal lengthening the TRIPS transition period for the 49 least-developed countries [LDCs]," Devex's "The Development Newswire" reports, noting, "The transition period, set to expire July 2013, exempts LDCs from the terms of the TRIPS agreement on patents and test data protection for pharmaceuticals."

5 Mar 2013

Médecins Sans Frontières’ concerns over TPP negotiations

As closed-door talks for the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) Agreement resume in Singapore this week, international medical humanitarian organisation Médecins Sans Frontières is calling on Australia and negotiating countries to reject rules that threaten to dismantle internationally agreed public health safeguards and restrict access to medicines in developing countries.

4 Mar 2013

Prompt antiretroviral therapy may help infants clear the HIV and achieve long-term remission

A team of researchers from Johns Hopkins Children's Center, the University of Mississippi Medical Center and the University of Massachusetts Medical School describe the first case of a so-called "functional cure" in an HIV-infected infant. The finding, the investigators say, may help pave the way to eliminating HIV infection in children.

4 Mar 2013

NPR blog examines debate over option B+ HIV prevention strategy

NPR's "Shots" blog examines the debate over Option B+, a strategy to prevent mother-to-child HIV transmission that "aims to put every pregnant woman with HIV on triple-drug treatment and keep her on it for the rest of her life -- even if the virus has not yet damaged her immune system to the point where she needs medications to preserve her own health."

2 Mar 2013

Global Fund launches new funding model, says $1.9B available during transition period

"The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria on Thursday launched a new funding model that allows it to invest more strategically, achieve greater impact, and engage implementers and partners more effectively," a Global Fund press release reports.

2 Mar 2013

U.S. global AIDS coordinator Goosby discusses global health diplomacy at Kaiser Family Foundation event

"As the federal government works to reform America's beleaguered health system, the State Department's new Office of Global Health Diplomacy is trying integrate the U.S. government's international health aid efforts and help governments in developing countries create sustainable health care funding and care models," Government Health IT reports, highlighting a town hall discussion with Ambassador Eric Goosby, head of the State Department's Office of Global Health Diplomacy and U.S. global AIDS coordinator, at the Kaiser Family Foundation on Thursday.

2 Mar 2013

GlaxoSmithKline's HIV/AIDS business joins Medicines Patent Pool

"GlaxoSmithKline's HIV/AIDS drugs business is to share intellectual property rights on children's medicine in a patent pool designed to make treatments more widely available in poor countries," Reuters reports.

1 Mar 2013

Macrophages allow entry of HIV in the urethra

Having suggested in 2011 that the urethra is a novel entry site for HIV, a team from the Institut Cochin, has now confirmed this hypothesis and identified the cells and mechanisms brought into play: the immune system cells macrophages, present in the epithelium of the urethra, allow the entry of HIV. This work, published online on the website of the journal Mucosal Immunology, could make it possible to test novel HIV/AIDS prevention strategies.

1 Mar 2013

Post-2015 development agenda should focus on accelerating progress made against HIV, TB, malaria

"In a little more than two years, the world will hit an important target: the date by which the Millennium Development Goals [MDGs] are meant to be achieved," Lucy Chesire, executive director and secretary to the board of the TB ACTION Group, writes in the Huffington Post's "The Big Push" blog.

28 Feb 2013

CSIS report examines Global Health Policy in Second Obama Term

"I am pleased to share with you a new report and video series from the CSIS Global Health Policy Center, 'Global Health Policy in the Second Obama Term,'" J. Stephen Morrison, senior vice president of the Center for Strategic & International Studies (CSIS) and director of the CSIS Global Health Policy Center, writes in a letter posted on the center's "Smart Global Health" blog.

28 Feb 2013

UNAIDS, UNDP release issue brief on TRIPS transition period extensions for LDCs

"The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) today launched a new issue brief", titled "TRIPS transition period extensions for least-developed countries [LDCs]," a UNAIDS press release reports.

28 Feb 2013

Excess of vitamin D during pregnancy can increase risk of food allergy in children

Pregnant women should avoid taking vitamin D supplements. Substitution appears to raise the risk of children developing a food allergy after birth.

28 Feb 2013

Recommendations for PEPFAR to improve data collection, use, distribution

Noting the release of the Institute of Medicine PEPFAR evaluation and an October 2012 report of the Data Working Group of PEPFAR's Scientific Advisory Board, Mead Over and Rachel Silverman of the Center for Global Development propose in the group's "Global Health Policy" blog "four recommendations where there seems to be agreement and feasible opportunities to improve PEPFAR's collection, utilization, and dissemination of data and knowledge."

27 Feb 2013

Using smart phones to manage HIV treatment in rural Virginia

An innovative plan developed at the University of Virginia School of Medicine will use smart phones to improve care for people recently diagnosed with HIV in rural Virginia.

27 Feb 2013

PEPFAR has helped millions, but 'hard work' lies ahead to sustain gains

PEPFAR, initiated in 2003, is "the largest global health initiative ever undertaken focused on a single disease," a Washington Post editorial writes, noting, "Now, after four years of work, some 400 interviews and visits to 13 nations, the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences has provided [an] examination of this incredibly ambitious program."

27 Feb 2013

Researchers discover that tympanic border cells can enable hearing

Researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine have identified a group of progenitor cells in the inner ear that can become the sensory hair cells and adjacent supporting cells that enable hearing.

27 Feb 2013

Examining global efforts against Buruli ulcer

"During my visit to the Médecins Sans Frontières [MSF] Buruli ulcer ward in Cameroon it was wonderful to see the amazing care that the patients receive on a daily basis: antibiotics, state of the art dressings, physiotherapy to help prevent deformities, free food and medicines, and surgery when required," Daniel O'Brien, a specialist adviser with MSF-UK focusing on HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and Buruli ulcer, writes in the BMJ Group Blogs.

27 Feb 2013

AIDS activists work to influence Kenyan presidential candidates' positions on care, treatment

"A small team of HIV/AIDS activists is trailing Kenyan presidential candidates as they crisscross the country, pressing them to increase their commitment to the care and treatment of people living with HIV," PlusNews reports.

27 Feb 2013

Viewpoints: GOP faces pressure from spending cuts effects on daily life; President needs to lead on Medicare cuts

Cuts this draconian have no place in a tottering economy. But, realistically, the only way to break this standoff is for the cuts to exact their toll on daily life, causing Republicans to face pressure from the public to negotiate an alternative plan with higher revenues in March as part of talks to finance the government for the final six months of the fiscal year.

26 Feb 2013

AIDS News and Research

Results of two important studies published in March issue of AIDS

World Trade Organization meeting this week to discuss proposed extension of TRIPS transition period for LDCs

Médecins Sans Frontières’ concerns over TPP negotiations

Prompt antiretroviral therapy may help infants clear the HIV and achieve long-term remission

NPR blog examines debate over option B+ HIV prevention strategy

Global Fund launches new funding model, says $1.9B available during transition period

U.S. global AIDS coordinator Goosby discusses global health diplomacy at Kaiser Family Foundation event

GlaxoSmithKline's HIV/AIDS business joins Medicines Patent Pool

Macrophages allow entry of HIV in the urethra

Post-2015 development agenda should focus on accelerating progress made against HIV, TB, malaria

CSIS report examines Global Health Policy in Second Obama Term

UNAIDS, UNDP release issue brief on TRIPS transition period extensions for LDCs

Excess of vitamin D during pregnancy can increase risk of food allergy in children

Recommendations for PEPFAR to improve data collection, use, distribution

Using smart phones to manage HIV treatment in rural Virginia

PEPFAR has helped millions, but 'hard work' lies ahead to sustain gains

Researchers discover that tympanic border cells can enable hearing

Examining global efforts against Buruli ulcer

AIDS activists work to influence Kenyan presidential candidates' positions on care, treatment

Viewpoints: GOP faces pressure from spending cuts effects on daily life; President needs to lead on Medicare cuts

Improving healthcare sustainability through carbon data

A New Approach to Preventing Bladder Cancer Recurrence

Bringing real-time analytics to downstream bioprocess monitoring

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